A twin sister, Jennifer, recently graduated from the Ypsilanti campus.

In a December letter to students EMU President Sue Martin wrote:

Dear Students, Faculty and Staff,It is with great sadness that I write to you this afternoon about the tragic death of one of our students. As we reported earlier, the student has been identified as 23-year old Julia Catherine Niswender. She was a junior in Communication, Media and Theatre Arts. She was found last night in her off-campus apartment, located in the 1000 block of Huron River Drive. Ypsilanti Police are investigating her death as an apparent homicide. The cause of death has not been determined and Ypsilanti Police have no information at this time on a possible suspect.Our understanding is that police were called to Julia's apartment after a suitemate reported not having seen her for several days. The Ypsilanti Police Department is continuing to investigate the case. The EMU Police Department is working closely with Ypsilanti Police and we will report additional information as we obtain it, and as events may warrant.